Playing with Fire
Not barking up the wrong tree, but at the monkeys up in the tree
By Gonzalo Duque
WE came across a local newspaper headline, “Duque is barking at the wrong tree” last week.
Wrong. It should have been “Duque is barking up the monkeys in the tree.”
Those monkeys are trying to pretend not to know, not to hear, not to see what they ought to.
Here lies the trouble, fellas, because nothing goes right with their blind and deaf attitude.
Take City Administrator Vlad Mata who has been behaving lately as a super lapdog, to put it mildly, of Hitler, sorry, to Mayor Benjie Lim.
He has become a “Department of National Defense” of Mayor Lim’s order to collect business taxes from our school, the Lyceum Northwestern University, just like the University of Luzon which, by this time, must have sued the city government for illegal exaction.
The demand letters for business taxes were signed by a certain Sebastian C. Garcia, who gave his title as “chief, business license division.”
On the dates, October 22, 200l he signed a letter demanding payment for business taxes covering the years 2002 to 2005 or an equivalent of Pl.4 million.
This fellow Garcia invoked an alleged Local Government Code demanding payment from our school. As we went over the records, on the aforementioned years 2002 to 2006, we could not see any data that an ordinance has been passed by the Sangguniang Panlungsod authorizing it to collect business tax from private schools like ours.
We are emphasizing this because it is patently dangerous for a local government to simply swoop down on unwary institutions of higher learning to fleece them of hard-earned money. This is abhorrent and deplorable.
For the information of the public, Lyceum Northwestern University paid in compliance to an Ordinance l855 allegedly allowing the city government to collect business taxes from us. You see, this kind of thing has angered Dr. MacArthur Samson, president of University of Luzon, no end contending as irreparably wrong this illegal exaction by the city government. He was suing the city government in court.
It will be recalled, as it is most pertinent now, that the author of the ordinance on business taxes, then Councilor Michael Fernandez (handsome hubby of topnotcher Councilor Maybeline Fernandez), has repeatedly reminded the public that the private schools were not included among those to be taxed by the city. Very clear, specific, to the point, terse. How else should we read that?
Okay, let’s not fan the fire anymore. We offer to take this up soberly with Mayor Benjie under whom the “Hitlerian” taxmen prowl the streets to swoop down on us, private schools. Our school, the LNU, has paid the city P5,932,578.75 against its will. It was imposed on us just like that!
Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!
A patently clear, bizarre illegal exaction, isn’t it?
Some of his abusive taxmen challenged us to file a case against the SP. Why not? We shall. But may we remind Administrator Vladimir Mata, a former councilor himself, that he affixed his signature on the document authored by his colleague then Councilor Michael Fernandez exempting the private schools from paying tax.
Nitan ka, Vlad (sounds blood!) It is vital to note that Mata’s letters to Dr. Macky and this writer only too well showed that he was justifying the city’s imposition of business taxes invoking the Local Government Code. Hmmm… this is what we have been saying again and again to the point of being repetitive.
It is elementary in the system and art of governance that only a local ordinance would empower it collect tax. Without it, nada, nothing, zero, It’s that plain and simple, Vlad!
Back to our favorite mayor Benjie, onya pala pare gawaen ta ay ompniano mauksoy tan masimpit so nagawa, ha pare?
Just reimburse what the city collected from us. Oh, yes, simplistic, because we are avoiding artian. We are offering our hand of friendship and reconciliation. Iisa naman tayo noon, di ba Sir Cumpadre Mayor? No agmo gabay, kason baleg ya, cumpadre.
Let’s work a favorable settlement. For the peace and good of all. Cheers!
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